First day the Chilean capital

Here we are... We just arrived in Santiago in the middle of the afternoon after a long 14h of flying overnight. Our first impressions occurred just before landing when the plane flew over the Andes and we were blessed with a magnificent view over the Cordillera.

After refreshing ourselves at the hotel and having a short break at the bar, we decided to go out to discover the area around it. The location of our hotel (http://www.thesingular.com/santiago/lastarria/) was very central (in Lastarria). We walked in the area and found the pedestrian passage "Jose Vittorio Lastarria" vibrant with restaurants, small shops and bars. We continues our walk to Cerro Santa Lucia, a communal park set on a hill with a beautiful view from the city. It was a nice way to relax after our long flight and take a breather.

We then crossed the river and walked to Barrio Bellavista which was about 10-15min walk from our hotel. We discovered a bustling area with bars, restaurants and art galleries. Even the walls were painted with very artistic graffitis.

We hoped that we could still visit "La Chascona", the former home of poet Pablo Neruda and now the home of his foundation. It was a very entertaining experience, we loved the 1950' original furniture and the story that surrounded him and his wife during the difficult political changes through which Chile went.

We went back to our hotel to rest a little before heading for diner to a local restaurant (http://www.mulato.cl/). We enjoyed the food (the fish in particular was really good) but started to feel the effect of the trip. We headed back to the hotel for a good night sleep.